AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s what I’d do.”
Sparks dance as rounds ricochet around us. Wood splinters. My breath comes fast, my heart thundering even as I seek calm. Panic only leads to death.
"To the left!" Donovan points with his gun barrel, teeth bared in a grimace.
"Cover me." I don't wait for a response, already moving, trusting Donovan to watch my back. I weave between crates and machinery. A bullet whizzes by my shoulder, making me flinch.
"Got one!"
I don’t celebrate his success. There’s no triumph until they’re all dead. Or we are.
Someone pops up in front of me. I fire and duck. I peer from behind the crate to see that I hit my mark. He’s dead.
Another appears. "Keep countin'!" I fire back, squeezing the trigger and watching him crumble. One less threat.
"Two!"
I fire again. "Three!" I'm not sure whether it's vindication or desperation that fuels the tally. How many of these fuckers are there? And where are my men?
Then everything goes quiet. For a moment, I stay in my crouched position and listen. The silence is more chilling than the gunfire.
“Is that all of them?” Donovan’s voice holds doubt. Like he too thinks something isn’t right.
“I don’t know?” Scanning the area, I make my way back to him.
“That felt a little too easy.”
“How’d they know we were here?” Then it comes to me. “Fucking hell, did they search Eddie at the club? Does he have a tracker?”
“That would mean this is a trap.”
Instinctively, I look around again, waiting for the trap to be sprung because surely, this isn’t it. And where are my men?
“I think it’s safe to say that Eddie isn’t going to give up Giovanni. We should go,” I say.
"Right behind you." Donovan and I tentatively make our way through the warehouse. “I’ll have Lou arrange clean-up when we can be sure it’s clear.”
My nerves tingle as I anticipate another round of attack. "Stay sharp.”
The silence stretches like a taut string as we move toward the exit. As we round a corner, something shifts—the air seems to charge, electrify. I pause, instincts screaming that something's off.
"Ah, Niko. Always so predictable." Giovanni's voice slices through the tension. He holds a gun, as do the men around him.
Even so, the man who needs to die is standing in front of me. This is my chance. But I really need my men here if I plan to walk out alive. “You flatter me, Giovanni.”
“Now I’m going to kill you.”
A loud crash sounds, distracting me.
“Fuck!” Donovan yells as he steps in front of me. Then he’s propelled back, knocking me onto the ground. My head hits the concrete, and stars swim in my eyes as darkness descends.
“Kill them both.”
32
ELENA
It’s late. Past midnight. But I can’t sleep. I sit in the dark of the penthouse living room with Lucia, who’s just gotten off the phone to someone in Italy.
